Now's the Time: Wycliffe Gordon

Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon performs at The Blue Room on Saturday. As Joe Klopus' preview of the show suggests, much of Gordon's career is dedicated to education. Accordingly, I've chosen to feature this intriguing instructional video. No toilet jokes, please!

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*"Kansas City's Top Jazz Club Jardine's Goes Heavy Metal." That's the headline attached to Hearne Christopher's report on Jardine's attempt to make money on Monday nights. As reflected on the Kansas City Jazz Calendar, Jardine's no longer features jazz on Mondays. It's a hit to Kansas City's reputation as a jazz town, but if rock'n'roll can finance the remaining jazz schedule at Jardine's, the Plastic Sax staff enthusiastically supports the move. And thankfully, the Blue Room still offers a stellar Monday-night jazz lineup.

*The self-titled debut album by Diverse will be released by Origin Records on July 21. The group is composed of Hermon Mehari (trumpet), William Sanders (tenor), John Brewer (keyboards), Ben Leifer (bass) and Ryan Lee on drums. The recording was produced by Bobby Watson, who appears on one track.

*KCUR's Up To Date will broadcast "a conversation with area jazz group the Sons of Brasil with guest host Bill Anderson" Thursday at 11am. As always, the show will be available as a free downloadable podcast.

*A concert by Bobby Watson, Jaleel Shaw and the UMKC Concert Jazz Band is posted at Vimeo. (Tip via Michael Shults.)

*Steve Penn sticks up for the American Jazz Museum.

*A combination book signing and birthday party is being held for Alaadeen on July 28 at the Mutual Musicians Foundation. The 75-year-old is promoting The Rest of the Story: Jazz Improvisation and History.

*An NPR employee originally from Kansas City reminisces about bassist Ray Brown.

*Jason Harper laments the announcement that Shawnee's Needmore Discs will close in August.

*Mark Edelman talks to Joe Klopus about 12 O'Clock Jump.

*A blogger shares her appreciation of Jardine's.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Trio All at Jardine's

Zach Albetta bashed his drums. Bassist Ben Leifer played melodically. And pianist Mark Lowrey pulled it all together with compelling tact.

Such was the scene witnessed by about 25 people when the music began last Wednesday at Jardine's. Lowrey noted that it was Trio All's second official gig.

Their foundation lies with the influential work of Bill Evans' trios, but the group is very much aware that it's 2009. (Read Steve Paul's profile of Trio All for a proper appreciation of the group. It's posted at Albetta's blog at MySpace.)

There were discordant moments but the traditional Jardine's patron need not be alarmed. Even when Trio All ventures outside, they never leave the yard.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Now's the Time: Jerry Hahn

With the exception of Erin Bode, the concept of cute has never played a role at Plastic Sax. Yet I like the way Goldie Hahn the "jazz cat" sets the tone in this informal video of the great guitarist Jerry Hahn. David Basse mentioned on his weekly KANU jazz show that Hahn recently moved from Wichita to the Kansas City area. That makes his show at Jardine's on Sunday, July 5, a housewarming party of sorts for Hahn.

Confirmation: Weekly News & Notes

*I'd been unable to confirm dates for Loren Pickford's appearances at the Golden Ox. I now know why. In his column last week, Joe Klopus confirmed that the longstanding gig has ended. Klopus also reported that the stately tree near Charlie Parker's grave has been cut down.

*Present offers a gallery of jazz photography by Corky Carroll. His subjects include Smooth Groove, Pearl Thurston Brown and Erin Bode.

*This item solved my dilemma of trying to figure out how to work Michael Jackson into today's post. A candlelight vigil was held for the pop star Friday at Robert Graham's sculpture of Charlie Parker.

*A blogger is unimpressed by The American Jazz Museum.

*I appeared on KCUR's Up To Date on June 25. A podcast version is available at the station's audio archives. If you'd rather not listen to my sputtering and stammering about the state of jazz in Kansas City, Andrew Zender offers a helpful synopsis of the points he found most interesting.

*Nonesuch has reissued a Pat Metheny album on vinyl.

*Robert Folsom previewed the Next Generation Jazz Summit for the Pitch.

*St. Louis Jazz Notes reports that the St. Louis Cardinals and Sheldon Hall have teamed up to teach that city's young baseball players about jazz. It seems that a similar program would be a natural fit for Kansas City.

*Unverifiable rumor: There's talk that the former location of Cafe Trio might become a jazz club.

*Jimmy Cobb's tribute to Kind of Blue comes to the Gem Theater on October 17. The eighty-year-old drummer will have a fine band in tow. (Tip via Joel Francis.)

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Al Pearson at the KCK Street Blues Festival

It's awfully nice of the organizers of the Kansas City Kansas Street Blues Festival to feature a handful of jazz artists at their event.

Dozens of working blues bands in town would be honored to play at the free two-day showcase. With the absence of a proper jazz festival in Kansas City this year, I wasn't about to let hellish heat prevent me from catching a bit of Saturday afternoon's jazz segment.

Well aware that the audience of about 250 was largely composed of beer-guzzling boogie fanatics, veteran jazz trumpeter Al Pearson turned on familiar material like Spyro Gyra's "Morning Dance," James Brown's "Cold Sweat" and Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On."

It wasn't high art, but given that the heat index was in the three digits, Pearson's approach was just right.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

Introducing The Kansas City Band

Meet the latest Kansas City jazz sensations. The Kansas City Band have the classic Basie charts down cold. More importantly, these dedicated cats capture the rollicking spirit that made Kansas City jazz so distinctive. If they were based here rather than in Japan, perhaps The Majestic would still be open for business. Check their MySpace for additional fine listening. My favorite track is 話な生活感溢れる日. Bram Winjands had better watch his back.